UK Plans Cyber Reserve Force

The British government recently announced plans to create several new initiatives focused on cyber defense, including a national Cyber Reserve.

"In a statement to Parliament ... minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude announced the creation of a UK National CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) and a Cyber Reserve within the Ministry of Defence (MoD)," writes TechWeekEurope's Tom Brewster.

"Run by the Ministry of Defence, [the Cyber Reserve] will allow the armed forces to 'draw on the wider talent and skills of the nation in the cyber field,'" BBC News reports.

"While plans to draft in the new personnel are only at an introductory stage, the Cabinet Office said it would hold a series of events next year with industry to flesh out how the scheme will work," writes ZDNet's Ben Woods.

"Maude added the government is looking to establish a UK National CERT ... which will 'improve national co-ordination of cyber incidents and act as a focus point for international sharing of technical information on cyber security," writes Computer Business Review's Steve Evans.

"Mr. Maude also noted the government was developing a permanent information sharing environment called CISP (Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership), which will start in January 2013," writes The Wall Street Journal's Nick Clayton. "Both industry players and the government have been working on CISP, which will be initially open to critical national infrastructure sectors. Others will be able to benefit at a later date."

"And the government also wants to train more students in cyber security, with a degree course module on the importance of trustworthy software being piloted at De Montfort University, the University of Worcester and Queens University Belfast," writes The Telegraph's Wesley Johnson.